Gate and latch



Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

w. T. PYLE. GATE AND LATCH. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17' 1920.

' attoznu UNITED, STATES PATENT, OFFICE- WILLIAM r. PYIL cr mes momEs, IOWA.

GATE am) LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd F b. 22 1921 Applicationfiled February 17, 1920. Serial No 359,345. p v

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM T. PYLE, a citizen of the United States, residin at'Des Moines, in the county of Folk, tate of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates and Latches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe artto which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention 1 relates. to .mechanically operated gates and the latches therefor, and more especially to. those wherein the gate is mounted on a horizontal transverse .pivot and is operated by a weight; and the object of the same is to improve the means for ac-. tuating the gate from a distant point and causing it to latch automatically when it changes its position.

A feature of the invention is its adaptability whereby the gate may be caused to open or to close automatically when imlatched, and yet at any time it may be adjusted to operate in the opposite direction. This adaptability renders the gate useful as a means for releasing or confining stock anywhere on the farm, by operating" the actuating mechanism from one central point. Also it is possible to use the gate across a railway line or across a road which crosses a railway line, and operate it by the movement of the train. V

Other features of the invention are its extreme simplicity, economy, reliability, and durability; as well as the fact that it can be erected by the purchaser at any desired point and will remain in successful operation indefinitely. I The gate cannot sag and needs but a single post,'and when it is closed there is no'tendencyto cantsuchpost. The structure has no springs. or ratchets to get out of order, is not susceptible to wind or weather, and rises out of the mud and snow rather than swinging through it; and its latching mechanism is such that it cannot be tampered with by the stock.

Details are set forth below, and attention is invited to the drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevation of this gate closedf m I Fig. 2 is a detail of the gate post and another post, and the actuating mechanism.

7 Fig. 3 is a'detail showing how'the invenwhich an inclined brace 4 leads downward to an anchor 5. on or in the ground behind the foundatlon. Themain post will stand at one side of a roadway, and atthe other side is a fence post P from which may lead a line of fencing F, this 0st carrying guides Grand the roadway pro ably having a rest R ad acent thlspost on which thefree end of the gate rests when it is closed. Fencing may al'sobe led from themain postaround thev operating mechanism and brace, and

to theleft in Fig.1, although it is not'so lllustrated herein. I have described the gate asstanding across a roadway, although it might be disposed across a railway track. The gate itself is composed of a main bar 6 extending across and pivoted at 7 to the gate post 1, its outer and longer arm carrying the gate panel which is herein shown as made up ofslats' and pickets crossing and pivoted to each other and to the main bar and the post 1, and the panel also includes a bottom bar 9, which, like the top bar,- is preferably made double so thatthe ends of the pickets maybe pivoted between or within it, the outer'end Iof thebottombarrest ing on the restR when the gate panel 8 stands closed across the roadway as seen in Fig. 1. However, the specific construction of the gate panel is not'important, except ing that. by preference it hangs from the main bar. 6, and when closed the outer end of thegatestandsbetweenthe guides G on the post P so that stock may not push the gate to one side or theother, nor wind or storm move it out of its proper position.

The gateis opened by the movement of the main bar 6 onits' pivot'7 whereby the panel is raised as; the'bar 6 rocks." It is therefore apparent that the gate structure is'mounted on a transverse horizontal pivot and" does forations 12 in the arm so as to the we ght V60 latch 20'so that' when thelatter is'raised the nearer to or farther from the pivot 7. In these or: in other ways the weight is therefore adjustable. .As shown in F 1g. 1 it is in'tendedrthat the weight shall overbalance the gate so that normally it opens the same,

but it is obvious thatif the weight be made lighter or set nearer to the pivot, the gate will overbalance the weight so that the gate will normally close. The difference between the weight and the gate-should be slight, because it is this difference which is to be overcome by the operator when actuating the mechanism hereinafter described, but it will be obvious that whether the weight overthe top bar 3, and thenceto a: remotepoint where this rope carries a handle .17 herein.

balances or underbalances the gate, the action in one direction will beautomatic and therefore the action in the other direction must be manual. ,The manual means is herein shown as a ropev13 leadin upward from a point 141 on the rear arm 0 the main bar over one of a. pair of pulleys 16 under shownaS a ring. .In Fig. 2 the remote end of the rope 13 passes over a pulley 18 carried bv a post 19. disposed alongside the'roadway some distancefrom the gate, and it is to be 1 understood a; duplicate rope 13 passes over the other of the'two'pulleys 16 andis led'in the other direction along the roadway to a similar post and its handle 17. Downward movement onhthe'handle raises the weight and depresses the gate. If therope 13. is attached to a point 15 on the inner arm of the,

main bar- 6, downward movement o'f'the handle. would open the gate. That is the arrangement which-would be followed when the weight-is less than that of the gate.

latch 20 is pivotedat 21 to the gate post 1 and has anotch 22 in its lower end adapted to engageover a pin 25 inthe rear arm'of the main bar 6, and atrip rope-23 leads from a point 24-011 this latch over one of a pair 7 of pulleysQdandalongside. the roadway over a pulley 28 on the post 19- to another handle, 27 here-shown as a cross bar. The

. latch falls by gravity into engagement with the pin 25,-bu t' a stop 29-prevents it fromdrop ingtoo far. V

hen the cross bar hand e 27 is drawn upon, the trip rope raises the latch. Otherwise the latter is useful for holding the gate closed when theweight 10 is heavier. than the gate and tends normally to openit;

preference I' also make use of a second to la 30. pivotedat 31 to the gate post 1 at about the point shown-andhaving a notch 32 adapted to engage'the pin 25 as will be explained, a rope 33 connecting this latch at the point 34 with a" point 35ion the first second'lateh is alsozraised. 1 Thus a sudden pull on one of the cross bar handles '27 draws or; a trip rope a'j'and raisesboth latches. so at the is treeto 2 rise to open position :actu'ate it in'the'reverse direction.

spiritof the invention;

or descend to closed position, It. moves automatically one'rway or the other accord-I mg as the weight is set. A pull on the ringshaped'handle 1? draws on the rope 13 to There- .fore a person approaching along the road first trips the latchand allows the gateto open, and after he has passed through he draws on the ring and closes the gate behind him. If the gate is used acrossor alongside a railway, means will be provided whereby theapproaching train actuates the trip rope to permit the gate to open and then actuates the other rope to close the gate, andbetween the moments of actuation the train will pass ropes lead to a quite distant point, as perhen the weight isset farther-in ward or is rendered lighter,'the rope 13 mus be attached to the point 15 on the'main bar 1 6 inward of its pivot 7 because now when the trip rope is drawnon the gate" closes auto matically whereas it. is opened manually. 1

With the weight heavier than the gate,"no 'latch 30'is absolutely necessary. With the weight. lighter than the gate, this latch be- I comes indispensable butthe otherlatc'h 20 is serviceable to prevent stock puttin their 7 noses through or underthe gate at itsffree edge and raising it. Some animals might have'the instinct to open a gateat its free edge, but they would hardly pass behind the V gate post and endeavor to-operate the mechanism there. ropes for trlpping the latch or latohes and While I have herein described r for.;moving.the weight, it is obvious that these elements might be wires or chains or-it is possible that means for' performing this service electrically from a distance might be substituted without departing from the In Fig. 3 the invention is-amplified to add a safety latch. to the free end of the ate A5 therein shown,=this latch consists of along" spring 40 secured at41 to the gateyleading upward andpassing througha loop 443011 the gate, then .bent sharply inward at an angle to form a working face 42 adapted a).

engageiwithkeeper or'catch 45 on'the post 7 I:

P. and a cord or wire 43 connects the upper end oft-his latch with the latch'20 or perhaps with the stop 29 assh0wn. NVith this addition'the gate acts precisely'a's above-Cle scribed,- but-its freeend is'positively'latched 1 to the post P so that even-{if "ananimal 80 through the open gate. -Also if the gate closes a field where stock is housed and the should put his head into or through the gate and lift on it he could not raise it high enough to disengage the guides G and therefore he could not force the gate open either by raising it or pushing it aside. This safety latch is tripped by the tripping movement of the other latch and therefore it needs no actuating mechanism of its own. i

What is claimed as new is:

1. A gate structure comprising an upright fixed post, a main bar pivoted across said post, a gate panel hung on its inner arm and a weight on its outer arm, a pin through the outer arm of said bar, latches pivoted to the post and adapted to engage said pin when the gate is raised or lowered respectively, means connecting said latches to cause them to rise in unison, a stop on the upper' latch to limit the descent of both latches, a trip rope leading from the upper latch to a remote point, and a gate operating rope leading also to a remote point.

2. In a gate structure, the combination with a gate post, a main bar pivoted across the same, a gate panel on its inner arm, a weight on its outer arm, and means for adjusting the latter to permit the automatic opening or closing of the gate at will; combined with two latches whereof one drops into engagement with said outer arm in either extreme position, means for causing them to rise 1n unlson, tripping means leading from them to a remote point, and an operating rope leading from said point over pulleys to the gate structure and attached to said top bar selectively at a point either side of its pivot according as said weight is adjusted.

3. A gate structure comprising anaupright fixed post, a main bar pivoted across said post, a gate panel hung on the inner arm of said bar, and a weight on the outer arm of said main bar adapted toovercome the weight of the gate and raise the latter; of a pin in said outer arm, a latch pivoted to the main post and having a notch in its head for engagement by said pin when the gate is closed, a stop supporting said latch while the gate is open, and ropes leading from this arm and the latch to a remote point for operation of the gate.

latches to cause them to risein unison, a

trip rope leading from the uppermost latch to a remote point, and an operating rope leading from the outer arm of the bar also to a remote point.

5. In agate structure, the combination with a gate post, a main bar pivoted across the same, a gate panel on its inner arm, a weight on its outer arm, and means for adjusting the weight to permit the automatic opening or closing of the gate at will; com bined with means engaging said outer arm for latching the gate in either extreme position, tripping means leading from said latching means to a remote point, and an operating rope leading from said point over pulleys to the gate structure and attached to said top bar selectively at a point either side of its pivot acccording as said weight is adjusted.

6. In a gate structure comprising a pair of posts, a main bar pivoted across one of them, a gate panel hung on the inner arm of this bar, a weight on its outer arm to overbalance the gate, a latch holding the said outer arm raised and the gate closed, and means for operating said latch from a remote point; combined with a catch on the other post, a spring latch on the free end of the gate adapted to engage beneath said catch as the gate closes, and a wire connecting this latch with that first named so that the gate -will be unlatched at both points simultaneously.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

S. Jon BROWN, R. E. CoMBs. 

